Lung Cancer Indicator Detection

Rationale Approximately 75% of patients with lung cancer present with advanced disease. For those with stage 1 disease, the chance of cure is up to 70%. Therefore, diagnostics which may aid identification of those with early stage lung cancer will play an important role in future screening programs. Because all cancer cells are characterized by a change in their metabolism related to their uncontrolled growth, detection of the resulting metabolites may be a novel diagnostic tool for early stage lung cancer. Subsets of these metabolites are volatile and are exhaled as so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Analysis of exhaled VOCs suggests they differ between patients with advanced lung cancer and healthy controls. The Lung Cancer Indicator Detection (LuCID) study aims to validate the use of a high-throughput breath analysis technique in a population of patients whom are clinically suspected of having lung cancer. Methods LuCID is an international, multi-center case-control study. Patients referred by their GP or treating specialist for a diagnostic work-up for lung cancer will be invited to participate in the study. A maximum of two thousand five hundred patients whom consent to partake in this study will be asked to provide a breath sample prior to any diagnostic procedures. This is a non-invasive procedure that will require the patient to breath normally into a facemask to collect 2.5L of breath amounting to approximately 10 minutes of breathing. The resulting samples will be analyzed for VOCs by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromotography coupled to Field Assymetrical Ion Mobility Spectrometry. The resulting VOC profiles will be used to generate a diagnostic algorithm in order to try to differentiate between patients with and without lung cancer in the intention to diagnose population. This study will not interfere in any with the standard care offered at the clinical sites. Outcomes The results of this study will provide detailed insights into the accuracy of the test for the detection of lung cancer in the intention to diagnose population. This will form the foundation for a subsequent study in a population at risk for the development of lung cancer. If sufficiently accurate for early stage disease, analysis of breath VOCs could help implement large-scale screening for lung cancer, significantly decreasing the morbidity and mortality of the disease.